When you hear Orthodox Jew, your first thoughts are neither reggae nor hip-hop; they probably don’t have anything to do with music. But Matisyahu beautifully combines his faith with his flows, with no intention of hiding his faith or who he is.
One example is his song “King without a Crown,” which is about his relationship with God and how he wants to make it stronger. With lyrics like “Torah food for my brain let it rain till I drown,” “King without a Crown” is a powerful song that not only moves your soul, but is musically moving as well. You won’t be able to help the urge to get up and move to his beats.
But religion aside, Matisyahu is an artist to watch because of his ability to beat-box and flow like no other. His songs take reggae and hip-hop back to their roots. They are smooth and beautiful, not filled with lyrics about being some hardcore thug that you never really were, just lyrics about the kind of life you have lead, and what life means to you. Matisyahu’s style makes it easy to lay back and relax. You can feel in his jams how much Bob Marley has influenced his music both lyrically and rhythmically.
If you like reggae and if you like hip-hop or even if you don’t like either, you should still check Matisyahu, because it is rare to find an artist this talented, original, and brutally open with his life and spirituality as he is in this day and age.
